AGT’s Final Performance Night

David Garibaldi and His CMYK’s stand in front of their painting of Albert Einstein.

After a long season of America’s Got Talent, Wednesday was the last chance for the six remaining acts to prove they were worthy of a headline show in Las Vegas. This season has had a lot of ups and downs, but the show was certainly more entertaining in the latter stages of the competition. This finale had more variety than past seasons, so the show will finally have a second non-singing winner. Some of these acts will probably have a promising career in show business. However, the performances on Wednesday were good, but not great.

David Garibaldi and His CMYK’s
David Garibaldi and His CMYK’s have a unique combination of music and art, but the novelty wears off fast. This time, the group danced to The Who’s “We Won’t Let Go Again.” The attraction of this act seems to be waiting for the reveal of the painting. As with the previous performance, it took a bit too long to show the audience the art. In the end, the massive canvas revealed Albert Einstein The art was well-done, but the performance was not exciting enough. It was reasonable to be confused about the content of the painting during most of the performance, which took away from the dancing. If the only especially strong moment in a performance is the last second reveal, the act does not have a shot at winning.

Tom Cotter
Tom Cotter once again left his material up to chance with his “Comedy Cube.” He asked Nick Cannon to literally roll a dice with topics on each side. “Poor examples” turned up. Cotter then started talking about how parents give kids skewed morals in fairy tales and common sayings that parents say to their kids such as “don’t let the bedbugs bite,” which is a scary thought for kids right before they are about to go to sleep. Cotter then talked about Snow White, describing her as “one hot chick who lives with 7 men,” and commented that it sounded like an adult film. He also mentioned that Sleeping Beauty involves an illegal act. It wasn’t his best act, since the material wasn’t great, but he has a really effective stage persona. He may or may not win, but his career definitely recieved a boost as a result of the show.

Joe Castillo
Joe Castillo is usually very moving in his performances, painting very majestic images in sand accompanied by slow music. It’s never terribly done, but This time, he used more upbeat music and drew the judges. Howie, Sharon, and Howard had some criticism of the accuracy of the drawings, but it didn’t really matter to them. They enjoyed watching his performance due mostly to the unique skill, regardless of whether or not it is done gracefully. Castillo probably wont win, but he gave a good effort.

The Untouchables
The Untouchables danced to Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” in a different style than usual. Their performances are usually slicker, but this one seemed more fun and carefree. It would certainly be good enough to go through the next round if there was one, but their youth cannot be their main selling point. They probably won’t win, but The Untouchables’ talent should be commended.

William Close
William Close and his band used many of the instruments in his collection to perform a rendition of “America The Beautiful.” It was quieter than his last performance, but also had some acrobatic movement involved, which the judges compared to Cirque Du Soleil. As Howard said, his musicians drowned him out a bit last performance. He was more of a front man on Wednesday. He has been the front runner since the quarterfinals and could easily win.

Olate Dogs
Olate Dogs was solid as always. The tricks ranged from jumping hurdles to maintaining balance in a wheel barrel. Essentially, the obstacle courses get tougher for the dogs each week and each week they deliver. The extra dogs added made for even more spectacle. Olate Dogs can do a great job entertaining a Vegas crowd. They could possibly win.

Who Will Win?
Judging from the originality of the acts, William Close would win. His Earth Harp is unlike anything ever seen on the show and he plays it well every time. Then again, America likes familiarity. Olate Dogs would also do very well in Vegas. However, animal acts have never come close to winning before and music acts consistently win. The judges have been pulling for Close since his first performance in the live shows. It will be interesting to see what happens if he doesn’t win.